Computer systems typically include bulk storage systems, such as magnetic disc drives, optical storage devices, tape drives, or solid state storage drives, among other storage systems. In these computer systems, a host system, such as a network device, server, or end-user computing device, communicates with external bulk storage systems to store data or to access previously stored data. These bulk storage systems are traditionally limited in the number of devices that can be included per host and also have large physical space requirements due to the separate physical packaging of individual storage drives, which can be problematic in storage environments where higher capacity, redundancy, and reliability is desired. These shortcomings can be especially pronounced with the increasing data storage and retrieval needs in networked, cloud, and enterprise environments.
Overview
Systems, methods, apparatuses, and software for data storage systems are provided herein. In one example, a data storage system is provided that includes at least one storage drive and at least one processing module coupled over a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) fabric. The data storage system includes a first processing module in a first storage assembly configured to receive a storage operation for a storage drive managed by a second processing module in a second storage assembly. The first processing module is configured to identify the second processing module as managing the storage drive associated with the storage operation and responsively transfer the storage operation over a tunneled network connection between the first storage assembly and the second storage assembly. The second processing module is configured to receive the storage operation over the tunneled network connection and handle the storage operation with the storage drive of the second storage assembly over the PCIe fabric of the second storage assembly.